The force, whose officers accused Liverpool fans of stealing from the dead victims of the 1989 disaster, chose to bank the cash rather than donate it to the fund set up to help victims of the tragedy.

Sheila Coleman, from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said: “Although we're only talking about a small amount of money, the amount is irrelevant, it's the principle.

“The fans were blamed for stealing from the dead and there is a sad irony in the fact that so many years later it's come to light that the money was misappropriated by South Yorkshire Police.

“South Yorkshire Police may argue they were following standard procedure but, given the fact there was a disaster fund set up so quickly after, ethically and morally the thing to do was to give that money to the disaster fund, not put it into the police bank account.”

Chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, Margaret Aspinall, whose son, James, 18, was one of the 96 killed in the tragedy, said: “This is an absolute disgrace and very ironic, when they were accusing the fans of robbing the dead. I just find that rather appalling.”

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said enquiries had taken place to establish ownership of items of personal property which were recovered.

She said a memo from January 16, 1992, listed property that was recovered, including the cash – which was banked by the finance department.

She said: “Effectively, any unclaimed monies should have been placed into the Police Property Act Fund maintained by the then Police Authority which would then have been available for payment towards such charitable purposes as the authority might determine.

“South Yorkshire Police are unable to comment on how these particular monies may have been dealt with, as financial records from that time do not exist.

“Such prime financial documents are required by law to be retained for six years, which has been surpassed in this instance.”

He said further investigations into the circumstances would be undertaken by the IPCC.

The news comes after the ECHO revealed last month that South Yorkshire police chiefs wanted to use funds donated in memory of Hillsborough disaster victims to pay for a holiday flat, microwave ovens for police station kitchens and new gym equipment.